Finding it hard to stick to your new year resolutions?

50% of Australians have made one or more new year resolutions, but research shows that 88% of these will end in failure. By day 8 of 2013, 25% of people have already fallen at the first hurdle and given up. According to Rowdy McLean, an expert on motivation and execution of goals, and author of ‘Play a Bigger Game’ says, “Every year we make resolutions to lose weight, give up smoking, adopt better money management skills and get that promotion we’ve always wanted. It’s easy to slip up, but it’s more important to focus on getting back on track and not give up easily.”

To combat certain excuses that people give to justify why they haven’t stuck to a resolution, Rowdy says it’s necessary to identify what’s causing you to fail in the first place and suggests the following tips to dissipate the failure factor:

[checklist]1. Overwhelmed – We take on too much by making too many different resolutions. Tip: Focus and choose just one thing and work on that flat out until you get the result you want.

2. Inconsistency – Commitment is the key. Tip: Start off slowly; find out what works and what you can commit to without compromise each week.

3. No plan – Not having a clear idea on how you are going to achieve your goal. Tip: Create a clear plan with deadlines and milestones that track your progress. Don’t forget to include obstacles you may encounter and how to overcome them.

4. Belief – we undermine our ability to get things done because we don’t really believe we can do it. Tip: Knowledge is your weapon – no matter what you want to achieve, someone somewhere has completed it successfully, so do the research, read the books, attend the seminars, workshops and courses. This will build your confidence and encourage you to keep fighting.

5. Accountability – we keep our goals to ourselves and when we lose our way we don’t mind because no one knows that we have given up. Tip: To remain accountable to yourself, tell your friends and family and ask them to provide a gentle push from time to time.[/checklist]

Rowdy believes that the simplest ideas are often the most effective, and the tips above will help you replace your old habits with new and improved habits.